14,093 research outputs found

    Past and Ongoing Tsetse and Animal Trypanosomiasis Control Operations in Five African Countries: A Systematic Review

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    Background Control operations targeting Animal African Trypanosomiasis and its primary vector, the tsetse, were covering approximately 128,000 km2 of Africa in 2001, which is a mere 1.3% of the tsetse infested area. Although extensive trypanosomiasis and tsetse (T&T) control operations have been running since the beginning of the 20th century, Animal African Trypanosomiasis is still a major constraint of livestock production in sub-Saharan Africa. Methodology/Principal Findings We performed a systematic review of the existing literature describing T&T control programmes conducted in a selection of five African countries, namely Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Uganda and Zambia, between 1980 and 2015. Sixty-eight documents were eventually selected from those identified by the database search. This was supplemented with information gathered through semi-structured interviews conducted with twelve key informants recruited in the study countries and selected based on their experience and knowledge of T&T control. The combined information from these two sources was used to describe the inputs, processes and outcomes from 23 major T&T control programmes implemented in the study countries. Although there were some data gaps, involvement of the target communities and sustainability of the control activities were identified as the two main issues faced by these programmes. Further, there was a lack of evaluation of these control programmes, as well as a lack of a standardised methodology to conduct such evaluations. Conclusions/Significance Past experiences demonstrated that coordinated and sustained control activities require careful planning, and evidence of successes, failures and setbacks from past control programmes represent a mine of information. As there is a lack of evaluation of these programmes, these data have not been fully exploited for the design, analyses and justification of future control programmes

    THE EFFECTS OF FUTURES TRADING BY LARGE HEDGE FUNDS AND CTAS ON MARKET VOLATILITY

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    This study uses the newly available data from the CFTC to investigate the market impact of futures trading by large hedge funds and CTAs. Regression results show that there is a positive relationship between the trading volume of large hedge funds and CTAs and market volatility. However, a positive relationship between hedge fund and CTA trading volume and market volatility is consistent with either a private information or noise trader hypothesis. Three additional tests are conducted to distinguish between the private information hypothesis and the noise trader hypothesis. The first test consisted of identifying the noise component exhibited in return variances over different holding periods. The variance ratio tests provide little support for the noise trader hypothesis. The second test examined whether positive feedback trading characterized large hedge fund and CTA trading behavior. These results suggest that trading decisions by large hedge funds and CTAs, although influenced in small part by past price changes, are not driven by past price changes. The third test consists of estimating the profits and losses associated with the open interest positions of large hedge funds and CTAs. This test is based on the argument that speculative trading can only be destabilizing if speculators buy when prices are high and sell when prices are low, which in turn, implies that destabilizing speculators lose money. Across all thirteen markets, the profit for large hedge funds and CTAs is estimated to be just under $400 million. This implies that the trading decisions are likely based on valuable private information. Overall, the evidence presented in this study suggests trading by large hedge funds and CTAs is based on private fundamental information. These findings imply large hedge funds and CTAs benefit market efficiency by bringing valuable, fundamental information to the market through their trading.hedge fund, commodity trading advisor, volatility, market efficiency, futures markets, Marketing,

    The sotades painter

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    Chapter one :- A brief summary of Early Classical vase painting, the painters being divided into six groups. A short discussion follows as to how much the Sotades Painter is influenced by any or all of these and in what particular aspects. Chapter two :- White ground painting a short survey, which leads naturally on to a detailed treatment of the three white ground cups in London (D5, D6, D7); two of them (D5 and D6) signed. Chapter three :- The Astragalos. This unique and beautifully painted piece of miniature has a complete chapter devoted to it. Chapter four :- Satyrs. So many of the painter's vases depict satyr play that a preliminary discussion is necessary of satyrs in both mythology and drama. The various vases (including the signed Goluchow Kantharos) devoted to this subject are then described individually, Chapter five :- Rhyta - a shape used frequently by the painter. The vases themselves are usually mounted upon or form part of an animal head, but in the case of the London rhyton it is a sphinx. All the vases are then described. Chapter six :- Proveniences, Shapes and Sotadean characteristics. The many different places in which the painter’s works have been discovered are mentioned and an attempt is made to find out if they relate in any way to the subject matter of the vases. There follows a discussion and description of the variety of shapes used by the artist as a base for his work. Finally an attempt is made to establish a chronological pattern for his work and this is followed by a catalogue of characteristic Sotadean renderings. Appendix 1 :- A description of a fragmentary camel rhyton in the Louvre, recently the subject of an article in the Revue Archelogique by Lilly Kahil. Appendix 2 :- Bibliography

    Viking '75 spacecraft design and test summary. Volume 3: Engineering test summary

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    The engineering test program for the lander and the orbiter are presented. The engineering program was developed to achieve confidence that the design was adequate to survive the expected mission environments and to accomplish the mission objective

    The impact of the warm outflow in the young (GPS) radio source & ULIRG PKS 1345+12 (4C 12.50)

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    (Abridged) We present new deep VLT/FORS optical spectra with intermediate resolution and large wavelength coverage of the GPS radio source and ULIRG PKS1345+12 (4C12.50; z=0.122), taken with the aim of investigating the impact of the nuclear activity on the circumnuclear ISM. PKS1345+12 is a powerful quasar and is also the best studied case of an emission line outflow in a ULIRG. Using the density sensitive transauroral emission lines [S II]4068,4076 and [O II]7318,7319,7330,7331, we pilot a new technique to accurately model the electron density for cases in which it is not possible to use the traditional diagnostic [S II]6716/6731, namely sources with highly broadened complex emission line profiles and/or high (Ne > 10^4 cm^-3) electron densities. We measure electron densities of Ne=2.94x10^3 cm^-3, Ne=1.47x10^4 cm^-3 and Ne=3.16x10^5 cm^-3 for the regions emitting the narrow, broad and very broad components respectively. We calculate a total mass outflow rate of 8 M_sun yr^-1. We estimate the total mass in the warm gas outflow is 8x10^5 M_sun. The total kinetic power in the warm outflow is 3.4x10^42 erg s^-1. We find that only a small fraction (0.13% of Lbol) of the available accretion power is driving the warm outflow, significantly less than currently required by the majority of quasar feedback models (~5-10\% of Lbol), but similar to recent findings by Hopkins et al. (2010) for a two-stage feedback model. The models also predict that AGN outflows will eventually remove the gas from the bulge of the host galaxy. The visible warm outflow in PKS1345+12 is not currently capable of doing so. However, it is entirely possible that much of the outflow is either obscured by a dense and dusty natal cocoon and/or in cooler or hotter phases of the ISM. This result is important not just for studies of young (GPS/CSS) radio sources, but for AGN in general.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 11 pages, 4 figure

    Viking '75 spacecraft design and test summary. Volume 1: Lander design

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    The Viking Mars program is summarized. The design of the Viking lander spacecraft is described

    Spaceborne memory organization, an associative data acquisition system, phase II Final report, Apr. - Dec. 1966

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    Spaceborne memory organization, associative data acquisition system design, and data compression technique

    Magnetic forming studies

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    Investigation of the tensile strength dependability on the characteristic time over which a pressure pulse is applied to a metal workpiece shows that the mechanical properties of these materials are functions of the rate at which the material is undergoing strain. These results and techniques are used in magnetomotive metal forming

    Soft X-ray spectral observations of quasars and high X-ray luminosity Seyfert galaxies

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    Results of the analysis of 28 Einstein SSS observations of 15 high X-ray luminosity (L(x) 10 to the 435 power erg/s) quasars and Seyfert type 1 nuclei are presented. The 0.75-4.5 keV spectra are in general well fit by a simple model consisting of a power law plus absorption by cold gas. The averager spectral index alpha is 0.66 + or - .36, consistent with alpha for the spectrum of these objects above 2 keV. In all but one case, no evidence was found for intrinsic absorption, with an upper limit of 2 x 10 to the 21st power/sq cm. Neither was evidence found for partial covering of the active nucleus by dense, cold matter (N(H) 10 to the 22nd power/sq cm; the average upper limit on the partial covering fraction is 0.5. There is no obvious correlation between spectral index and 0175-4.5 keV X-ray luminosity (which ranges from 3 x 10 to the 43rd to 47th powers erg/s or with other source properties. The lack of intrinsic X-ray absorption allows us to place constraints on the density and temperature of the broad-line emission region, and narrow line emission region, and the intergalactic medium
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